Cuban rice recipe

Last night I made Cuban rice (a variation) for dinner for the very first time, and it was a such a huge success that I decided to put the recipe up here. Now, I have to tell you I'm a very vague cook, so bear with me as I don't give exact measurements most of the time. This is why I can't bake by the way, because when you bake a cake everything must be exact and that's not my way. Whew so lets get to it.

You will need these ingredients:

Canned black beans

Brown rice preferably (but you can use white)

Pineapple chunks (preferably fresh, but I used canned)

Fresh jalapeño peppers--definitely must be fresh

Sausage or ham

Onion

Garlic

Oil

Even though the original recipe called for ham, I used sausage. First cook the rice, it's best if it's been cooked and has cooled by the time you start. Pour oil in the pan, and chop up your onion (I used only one) and sausage (I used a package and a half) and jalapeño (I used four because I love hot food) into the oil. Let them sauté and soften up then add in your rice. The longer you let the jalapeños cook, the less spicy they'll be. When you're ready, add in the rice, turn the heat down low here because the rice likes to stick and you may have to add a little oil. I cooked my black beans in a separate pot (about two cans) because they wouldn't fit in with the rice without spilling over when I stirred it.You're going to want to season the rice mixture in whichever way you choose--I used some seasoning salt and crushed fresh garlic. Add your pineapple (I used one can) just long enough for it to get nice and warm...And now that the rice mixture is nice and steamy, pour it into a big bowl and add in your black beans (which are seasoned too I hope--get the ones on the latino food aisle they taste best) and you're ready to eat. The pineapple adds a great little sweetness to an otherwise salty spicy dish. I made enough to feed seven people who gorged themselves in such a way that they had to take a walk after dinner lol. Here's what the bowl looked like when we were almost done eating :-) Make enough for leftovers! 

<3 Elisabeth